Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Behold the Wrestling Team

Two well-muscled choices from Saturday's Vintage Paper fair:

The top card here a Tuck 'Oilette' (hand- tinted card) showing two German wrestlers--ahem-- deep in the throes. (Tuck was a renowned British postcard publisher, best-known for photo portraits of royal family and views of historic English beauty spots. But they seem to have had a side business going in Germany too. In kink.)

Given the subject, I find the image strangely beautiful and arresting---the delicate hand coloring of the knee braces quite extraordinary, likewise the peculiar (watchful? suspicious?) gaze of the fellow in green shorts.
As for the group photo: cheesiness rules. (Someone has penciled 'the wrestling team' on the back.) For some reason these flabby fellows do not inspire confidence. Did they ever win a match? One wonders. Second guy in on the right has a disconcerting resemblance to Anthony Weiner.

Note suspenders in both images. How on earth, while wrestling, to keep everything up? Socks, prehistoric sweat pants, pecker, etc.